To Grow Up
by SmilinForYa
Summary: It all started out with a simple text.   Prequel to Paper Gangsta in Axel's POV.


"Axel! Open this door, come on!"

"No!"

"Axel! I'll break it down. You know I will."

"You wouldn't _dare_."

Axel sat up against his door, his knees pressed to his chest with his arms wrapped around them. His father, Reno, was trying to get into his room. Sadly, Axel was determined to keep him out. The younger redhead was _not_ happy. Not happy at all.

Axel heard Reno slide down to sit on the outside, his attention still on the door. "Fine. You got me there. But what if I say please?"

"Then I'll say go to hell."

"How come you're so mad?" Reno asked, as if he didn't know.

"Because you're sending me away!" Axel snarled, all his emotions filtering out. "You want me out of this fucking house, I know you do so don't fucking lie. I'm sick of it. You're sending me to Mom's house! I don't even _want_ to go."

"Why not? She lives right on the beach on an island. It's like paradise."

"Paradise my ass. More like a fucking jail cell."

"Don't you remember Destiny Island?"

"How could I forget? The sun was always fucking shining. People were always so damned happy that it pissed _me_ off." Axel snapped. Words were just coming out of his mouth, uncontrolled. That's how he got when he was angry—uncontrollable. "It was so small. There was nothing to do except go fucking swim. Oh and did I mention the countless preppy bastards? Yeah. I hate them, too."

Reno was quiet for a moment. Axel began to think his father gave up on the subject, but then Reno spoke again, and unlike all the other times his father has spoken to him, this time he sounded just like an adult. Like a father.

"Listen, Ax. I'm not a good parental figure thingy. I just…can't grow up, alright? And I care about you, so I want you to grow up with a good parental figure that actually has rules and discipline, and also with a good school. I'll stay like this forever probably. Your mom is a very good person to look up to. I'm not."

"I don't want to live with her." Axel mumbled.

"Why? She's your _mother_."

"Yeah. So why'd we have to leave her?" Axel's tone turned sharp and cold.

That hit a nerve in Reno. Axel heard his father sigh outside the door.

"I left her," Reno said quietly, "because I realized I was gay. A little too late I guess, but I wasn't always big on timing. So I took you because, well, I love you. And I still do. I just want you to grow up good. Hell, you'll never learn anything from me."

Axel couldn't help but smile to himself. Reno—he rarely addressed him as his father—was one of his best friends. They went to parties' together, watched movies late at night. Reno was an amazing person, he just immature. That's why Axel knew a lot more than his father. Whenever they got gas, Reno would have Axel go in to pay for it since he was downright terrible at math. And because he was lazy, but he never mentioned that. Hell, most of the time Axel pumped the gas because Reno would _forget_. His father couldn't remember things that well.

"I've learned a lot." Axel murmured, bringing his knees closer so he could rest his chin on them.

"Like what?"

Axel's voice was shaky. He was surprised to find tears in his eyes, and he wiped them away. "That some people aren't who they really are. That a dime is worth more than a penny. That pumping gas isn't smart to do while talking on a phone. That you shouldn't accept drinks from a stranger, or candy. That—"

"—if you haven't noticed," Reno cut in gently, "that all of those things are not important in life."

"Yes they are. Sure they seem unimportant, but they are."

Reno paused. "Wow. I guess I did teach you a few things. Score one for me!"

"So I can stay?"

"No."

Axel felt a tear slide down his cheek. He scowled and wiped it away, hating his weakness. It hurt. Everything hurt. He didn't want to leave Hollow Bastion—it was his home for many years. He did used to live in Destiny Islands when Reno and his mother were together, but then he moved here. And he loved it. He loved the city, he loved the weirdness, he loved the bars and the movies, he loved _everything_. And Destiny Island? Ugh. Just thinking about it made him angry. It was a little island to keep him trapped within, stuck with all the preppy bastards that lived there.

Axel hated the preps. He didn't mind the ones who just stayed out of his way, but he hated the ones who got in his way.

And there were a lot.

Reno didn't want him here. He wanted Axel _out_ of the house, like he was nothing but a problem.

"Why do you want me to leave?" Axel asked brokenly, feeling like a pathetic child.

"You think I _want_ you to leave?" Reno repeated in surprise. "I don't ever want you to leave. Your mother was the one who called to check up on you. She told me that I wasn't, you know, responsible, so I figured you'd like it there. To learn more things."

"Fuck learning." Axel said miserably. "I-I want to stay with _you_."

He hated how another tear came, but he didn't stop it because more followed.

"I know. Can you open the door now?"

Silently, Axel stepped back and opened the door. Instantly Reno hugged him tightly, and Axel couldn't stop the sob from coming.

"Are you crying?" Reno asked in shock, pulling away to look at his son's face.

They looked almost exactly alike. Axel had Reno's pure green eyes, and his bright red hair. Their faces were almost exactly alike, and they also had the lanky, thin frame. Like father like son, right?

"Shut the hell up." Axel muttered, hugging his father again. He didn't care how loud he sobbed, nor how he got Reno's shoulder soaked.

He just didn't want to _leave_.

"You'll like it there." Reno said soothingly, rubbing Axel's shoulder. "Kairi likes it there."

"Nobody will like me. I'm too different."

"Since when did you care about people liking you?" Reno chuckled light-heartedly. "Whatever happened to fuck the world?"

Axel smiled, his face wet with tears. "That still applies. But I don't want _everyone_ to hate me."

"I'm pretty sure someone will find you…interesting." Reno assured him. "Besides, who wouldn't? We're too damn sexy."

Axel laughed, while letting out another uncontrolled sob. Reno silenced instantly, holding his son to him, rocking him like he was a baby.

"I love you Axel. You have no idea how much you've changed my life. I mean, I was lost without you…and then you came and well…"

"Dad, shut up." Axel whispered, just wanting to stay in the apartment forever. There were so many memories he had. "Could I maybe come back after high school?"

"Hell yeah. You better come visit me." Reno pulled away to look stern. "Or I might have to come find _you_."

Axel smiled, despite the broken feeling in his chest.

"Now get packed." Reno said cheerfully, ruffing Axel's hair. Normally Axel hated it when Reno did that, but now, he knew he'd miss it. "You're leaving in three days."

"Three _days_?"

"Yeah. That gives you, uh, 48 hours."

"You mean 72 hours." Axel corrected right away.

"Whatever! You know I suck at math." Reno stood up, grinning down at Axel. "Though you suck, too. We both suck!"

"Fuck you!"

Reno laughed and waltzed away. "Seriously. Get dressed. I wanted us to spend the last days here doing nothing but—"

"—don't say it—"

"—playing Nintendo!" Reno exclaimed happily, spreading out his arms. "Don't you just love Nintendo?"

"Who doesn't?" Axel said, feeling a little better. His eyes, he knew were red, from crying. But he didn't care. He went to his bed to get started on his packing, though he wanted to prolong that as soon as possible.

"Hey Ax?"

"Hm?"

"Can you call my phone? I lost it. Again." Reno always lost his phone. Normally it as right in front of him, but he never seemed to see it.

Axel sighed, picked up his phone, and dialed his father's number. His phone beeped from an upcoming message, but he ignored and waited for Reno to find his beloved phone.

"There it is! Right in front of me. I swear, it disguises itself."

Axel rolled his eyes once Reno hung up on him. He saw that he got a text message from an unknown number, but set down the phone. He didn't really feel like texting at this exact moment. And once he heard Reno start to play Nintendo, he wanted to get his packing done fast so he could play, too.

* * *

><p>"Kiss my ass, you fucking princess!" Reno was shouting, once Axel had his suitcase finally packed. He had all his clothes, shoes, shampoos and whatnot stuffed in there. Axel stuffed his phone in his pocket, sprinted to the living room, and shoved Reno to take his controller.<p>

"Hey!" Reno protested, while Axel just laughed evilly.

"We're starting a new game. Two player."

"No way!" Reno whined, trying to get his controller back. Axel pressed START and was ending the game. "No! I was just about to kick Peach's ass!"

"Screw Peach. She's ugly anyway."

"Yeah. And has an _annoying_ voice. Ugh."

Reno, seeing that there was no hope, grabbed the second controller. They chose their characters—Axel with his evil Wario and Reno with Luigi, they began their race.

Their races were pretty intense, mainly because they were both masters. They didn't mess around. They've both been playing Nintendo for as long as they could remember, so they were undoubtedly masters. Especially at Mario Cart.

"HA!" Axel shouted, pointing at the screen victoriously. For some reason the redhead hated Peach with the passion of a thousand suns. "Look who fell off the bridge now, you fucking slut!"

Reno's character came right up behind Axel and shot him with a green turtle. Out of control, Axel's character fell off the bridge, too.

"Snooze you lose." Reno said with a grin. Axel glared at him, seeing that he was behind Peach again.

"I hate this blonde bitch. Why doesn't Mario just let her die?"

"Because he loves her."

"How can someone love that whining bitch?"

"Don't ask me—ask Mario."

Axel rolled his eyes. "You have one hell of an imagination, you know that?"

They were quiet for awhile, engrossed in the race before them. Reno ended up winning with Axel in 2nd place. Reno was slightly better than Axel.

"I want you to take this with you." Reno said suddenly, pointing at the Nintendo. "To take with you to Destiny Islands."

"You want me to take the Nintendo?" Axel's eyes got really wide. Reno treated the gaming system like it was another child.

"Yeah. Take it." Reno said, smiling softly. "I'm too old for it anyway. It's time I find something more suitable for my age to do."

"You're not _that_ old." Axel mumbled, still shocked that Reno was giving him his own Nintendo. That was insane. It didn't even happen in his _dreams_!

"I will get old. And someday I might have to ask _you_ to change my diapers." Reno teased, shoving Axel gently.

Axel's face twisted in disgust. "Shut the fuck up! That's so disgusting, you don't even know."

"Hey, I changed your diapers. Your time will come to return the favor." Reno busted out laughing, and Axel glared heatedly.

"You're sick."

"That makes two of us."

Axel looked down, realizing how much he was going to miss Reno. They did have a special bond, one that was highly unusual. But he liked it. And he had a feeling his father was going to try to 'grow up' while he was gone. Maybe that's why he needed Axel out of the house—so he could focus on himself. Axel was holding him back, forcing him to stay like this. With Axel gone, it might just be possible.

"I'm gonna miss you." Axel confessed.

Reno ruffled his hair. Axel leaned into the touch instead of flinching away. "Same here. But it's not like it'll be the last time you'll see me, right? Just get good grades, obey your mother, and be a good little kid, and then we'll get to hang out again."

Hang out. That's what Reno said to describe them living with each other.

Axel realized right then and there that Reno was right. If he stayed here, he'd never grow up either. With the two of them combined, it was like they would be doomed, forever to stay immature.

It wouldn't end well. So it would be best if Axel left.

"Fine, fine." Axel said finally, sighing. He took out his phone, seeing that new message sign, and decided to check it out.

A picture popped up on the screen.

Axel's mouth dropped open. Was this…a _model_?

The guy had blonde hair, with bangs that fell into his eyes in a damn sexy way, in Axel's opinion. And he had these big, blue eyes that didn't look real. That's how real they looked. But the best thing was his facial expression. He wasn't happy, that's for sure. Most models didn't smile in their pictures.

Axel looked at the number. He didn't know it. It wasn't even familiar to him.

He looked back at the picture to just stare at it for a few moments.

"Who's the blonde?" Reno asked, from behind Axel's shoulder.

Axel yelped. He didn't know Reno was right behind him. "I, uh, I don't know. They just sent me this picture."

"Well he's gorgeous."

"Shut up. You have a boyfriend, remember?"

Reno pouted and walked away. "That doesn't mean we're married though!"

Axel could literally feel his mouth water when he looked at the picture. The kid was so…_real_.

So he didn't hesitate to text him.

**_Ever considered modeling?;) _**

And he knew then, that strangely, he was hooked. Normally he didn't feel so...attached to someone. But for some reason, for the rest of the day, he kept just looking back at the picture, memorizing that face and those eyes.

* * *

><p><em>"Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you mad." <em>

_~Aldous Huxley_

**A/N: **

**This is a prequel to my story "Paper Gangsta". I got bored and decided to just show how it all started but in AXEL's POV. I did consider writing a story, linked to Paper Gangsta, but in Axel's POV instead of Roxas. But I decided to just make a prequel as a one-shot. Hope you liked it, and understood everything a little better! **

**:)SmilinForYa(:**


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